What you would be more likely to run into problems with is plugins in the app, as well as audio devices that you need to plug into the laptop. It basically translates apps into something that can be used in Big Sur even if they haven’t been translated to natively be supported by the OS. The Zoom H4n and H5 are similar, but with less versatile functionality.Ĭoncerning Audacity compatibility, the app itself is likely to work fine because of the Rosetta 2 compatibility layer built into MacOS Big Sur. It has 4 inbuilt XLR/TRS inputs, with the option to connect several different proprietary microphone modules or an additional 2 XLR/TRS inputs.

The audio format is compatible with Audacity. I can personally give a hearty recommendation for Zoom H6, which is a very versatile digital recorder. Not only is the glass half empty, but due to evaporation, manufacturing defect, theft, and spillage, it’s only going to get worse.

If your job is tied to internet production, then you’re stuck. Air Gap Firewalls are a thing, and in my opinion, a very good thing.

It’s perfectly possible to have a convenient WiFi system without that one cable on the end that connects to the intertnet. This will invariably mean you have more than one machine. If it’s super critical that your audio production goes out the door, stop connecting your production machine to the internet and stop doing updates. If you find one that needs updates, run the other way. People make very nice stand-alone audio recorders that record audio without interruption and without updates.

One of the solutions for live recording problems is stop recording on the computer. We have general purpose computers and as long as we treat them like do-all machines, the updates and the interruptions will continue. We don’t have audio production appliances.

Audacity macos big sur